Need to know: the top stories for Asia comms, media and marketing pros on Friday, 22/1/16

APAC best place for new business; Starbucks' Olson moves to United; facial coding and content marketing; Foxconn to buy Sharp; Starbucks slides in Asia; another global recession on the cards; China's growing middle class

APAC the best place for new business

Low startup costs and limited bureaucracy puts seven Asia-Pacific countries in the top 10 for opening a new venture, according to the latest US News Best Countries survey.

Starbucks' Jim Olson takes top comms job at United Airlines

He will oversee a broad scope of internal and external communications. Previously, Olson worked at Starbucks since 2011.

Can facial coding help crack the content marketing measurement muddle?

In an Asia-exclusive interview, BBC Advertising’s commercial development boss reveals the findings of an ‘industry-first’ study into the emotional effectiveness of content marketing.

Apple supplier Foxconn proposes $5.3B offer for Japan's Sharp: WSJ

Foxconn, the Taiwanese company best known as a top iPhone assembler, has proposed a 625 billion yen (US$5.3 billion) takeover bid for troubled Japanese electronics maker Sharp, the Wall Street Journal reported.